Style Debate: Taking a dress shirt apart in the fitting room
Hey Joe,
Got a random question for you. Is it acceptable to take apart meticulously packaged dress shirts, with the pins and tissue paper and so on, in order to try them on? I’ve done it a few times but I feel guilty about it.
– Stuart
The Case Against Taking the Shirt Apart: The shirts that come packaged up like that are neck and sleeve measurement shirts. That’s sizing you need to know once you hit the door, so trying it on would be unnecessary. If you’re in shape, stick with slim fits. Pulling out all the pins, cardboard, tissue paper and other stuff does two things: It wastes time and it makes a mess for whoever has to clean up after you.
The Case For Taking the Shirt Apart: None of us should make any apologies for the antiquated way dress shirts are packaged. It’s ludicrous, and if retailers choose to continue to waste all that money on pins, cardboard, and paper, then they’ll just have to keep picking up the mess after I’m done trying it on. Not all slim-fit dress shirts fit as slim as others. Not all fabrics, cotton, non-iron, or blends feel the same. If it’s going to fit weird and feel scratchy, I want to know that NOW. Before the purchase. Not once it gets home. I once got the stink eye from a floor rep in the men’s section of a department store for taking in four meticulously packaged shirts, taking them apart to try them on, and then leaving without making a purchase. Sorry pal. It’s part of the process. They’re shirts. They’re not Johnny 5
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Which side are you on? Have you worked in retail and got stuck reassembling the things? Leave your take below…